The New York Knicks will attempt something on Wednesday night that no team has pulled off — defeat the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of an NBA Finals.
The Spurs — who are 5-1 in their previous six Finals appearances — are historically great at starting the championship round on a winning note.
It’s worth noting that the Spurs had home-court advantage in five of their previous six Finals series, save for 2013, when the Miami Heat hosted Game 1. Incidentally, that series marked their only loss in the NBA championship round, as the Heat prevailed in Games 6 and 7 at home to end San Antonio’s spotless Finals record.
Spurs 6-0 in NBA Finals Game 1
Here’s a quick recap of the Spurs in their previous six NBA Finals Game 1:
- 1999 vs. the Knicks: 89-77 (Tim Duncan 33 points, 16 rebounds)
- 2003 vs. the Nets: 101-89 (Duncan 32 points, 20 rebounds, 7 blocks)
- 2005 vs. the Pistons: 84-69 (Manu Ginobili 26 points, nine rebounds)
- 2007 vs. the Cavaliers: 85-76 (Tony Parker 27 points, seven assists)
- 2013 vs. the Heat: 92-88 (Duncan 20 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks)
- 2014 vs. the Heat: 110-95 (Duncan 21 points, 10 rebounds)
As seen above, the Spurs won five of their six Game 1s handily, except for the 2013 opener when they traveled to Miami as the away team.
Can Knicks Buck the Trend?
Surely, the Knicks have a tall task ahead of them to steal Game 1 in San Antonio. However, several other historical markers actually favor the Knicks to beat the Spurs and end their 53-year NBA championship drought.
For one, the Knicks have a 62.5% chance of beating the Spurs in the NBA Finals based on an interesting historical marker. According to ESPN Research, teams in the Finals are 5-3 while coming off a sweep against an opponent that needed seven games to win the Conference Finals. In this instance, New York enters the NBA Finals following two consecutive sweeps, while San Antonio is fresh off a grueling seven-game series against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“This is the ninth Finals matchup between a team that swept its previous series and an opponent that was forced to go seven games. The team coming off the sweep went 5-3 in the previous Finals matchups, according to ESPN Research.”
Although the Spurs enter Game 1 as 4.5-point favorites and the series as -220 favorites, several scouts and coaches around the league believe the Knicks are the team to beat.
“You know the more and more people I’ve talked to around the league, scouts and other coaches, they’re really surprised that the Spurs are favored by as much as they are,” NBA insider Brian Windhorst told ESPN’s “Get Up” on Tuesday.
“They get with [Victor] Wembanyama and how tough the West playoffs were, but they really believe that the Knicks have some advantages in the series and that this thing could absolutely go New York’s way.”
Knicks vs Spurs Game 1 tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Knicks Get Concerning NBA Finals News Before Game 1 vs Spurs